Your first impression, as you glimpse the museum through the
surrounding greenery of the castle gardens, is not overwhelmingly positive. A
plain, single storey white-harled building, its lack of windows except around
the entrance gives it a slightly intimidating air. Don't let this put you off.
The absence of windows is a totally practical feature in a building designed
from scratch as a museum: the last thing that rare historical exhibits need is
sunlight. Another real benefit of the purpose-built premises is that they have
been designed to be full accessible.

The entrance area is, in fact, full of natural light. From here you
can visit the museum gift shop, on your right. To the left of the main entrance
are the core areas of the museum. These comprise a series of six
interconnecting galleries, each telling a different part of the story of Clan
Donald, whether as Lords
of the Isles or as landlords; and of the people who lived in the West
Highlands through the ages, whether as clansmen, soldiers, crofters or - as so
many became - emigrants forced to leave land their families had lived on for
generations. A seventh gallery houses temporary exhibitions.

At the end of the day, museums are about objects, about images, and
about words: and through those objects, images and words, museums seek to bring
to life something of the lives of people, often people who are remote from us
in time and culture.

In any museum, what you gain from the experience of a visit will
depend partly on how interested you are in the subject to start with; partly on
how well selected and presented the objects and images are and how well written
the words are; and partly on that hard to describe "feel" of the place. Does
the museum itself help give its contents added life and impact, does it allow a
better understanding of its contents and the people they represent?

Anyone not really sure what we are talking about here could do far
worse than spend some time in the Museum of the Isles. The objects on show are
superb, and the presentation of the background information excellent. But it is
the museum itself that sticks in the memory, the way the galleries are each
given a clear and distinct theme that makes each unique.

The result is a series of rooms in which your attention is focused
on the subjects and topics the designers want to highlight. The clearest
demonstration of the impact of a room on the overall experience is found in the
first main gallery you enter. This is a dark space that is made to feel
circular despite its underlying square shape, and which houses, amongst other
things, a beautifully lit recreated stone circle. It is as far from the
traditional image of a dusty museum as it is possible to get.

The story that is told in the Museum of the Isles is a fascinating
one, in part because it is so little known, even by many
Scots. The story starts
with the ancient settlers, before moving on to the time of
Dalriada, to the Celtic
Church, to the Norse, and to Somerled, the man who displaced
Norse power in western Scotland and the islands, and who, through one of his
grandsons, started a dynasty that went on to become the Clan Donald.

It was the descendents of Donald son of
Ranald, who over time acquired enough power to found the
Tighearnas nan Eilean or, in English, the
Lordship of the
Isles. The museum goes on to relate how the
Lordship of the Isles
thrived from the late 1300s to 1493, when it was forfeited to the Scottish
crown, and how its reign marked one of the most stable and prosperous periods
in the history of the Hebrides: up until then or since.

The period of the
Lords of the Isles
was followed by what the Museum calls linn nan
creach or "the age of forays", a lawless and violent period of cattle
raids and clan feuds. Then came na Seumasaich or
the Jacobites, in whose aftermath things took a serious turn for the worse for
the ordinary people of the highlands and islands. This was the period of
change: for the higher levels of society from cinn-cinnidh
nan uachdaren or "chiefs to landlords": and for everyone else from
tuath gu croitear or "clansman to crofter".

And it was inevitably followed by the time of
clearance and
eilthireachd or "emigration". Each of these phases
is illustrated strikingly, beautifully and at times poignantly within the
museum, and the accompanying guide book on sale in the shop makes an excellent
souvenir of your visit.

Finally, it is worth noting that one wing of the Museum of the
Isles serves as the Clan Donald Library and study centre, offering a collection
of over 7,000 books covering all aspects of Scottish culture and history,
natural history, topography and biography.